“In writing the new films, I’ve come to realize that Avatar‘s world, story and characters have become even richer than I anticipated, and it became apparent that two films would not be enough to capture everything I wanted to put on screen,” Cameron said in a statement.

Production is set to begin in 2014, and the three films will be shot simultaneously under Cameron’s Lighthouse Entertainment production company. The first sequel is scheduled for release in December 2016, and the other two will follow in December 2017 and December 2018.

Avatar is the highest-grossing film of all time with global receipts of $2.78 billion.